Events
1789
George Washington is elected president
Congress passes the Judiciary Act of 1789French Revolution begins
1790
Congress creates Washington, D.C., as national capital
1791
Bank of the United States is founded
1792
Washington is reelected
Key People
-
George Washington
First U.S. president; served two terms
-
John Adams
Vice
president to Washington
-
Alexander Hamilton
First U.S. secretary of the treasury; advocated for
creation of a Bank of the United States
-
Thomas Jefferson
First U.S. secretary of state; argued against Hamilton’s
bank proposal
President Washington
In 1788,
just months after the Constitution was ratified, national elections were
held to choose representatives for the House of Representatives
and the first U.S. president (senators were not elected directly
by the people until 1913).
Members of the Electoral College unanimously chose
the war hero George Washington because of his popularity
and keen leadership skills. Boston lawyer John Adams was
chosen to be the first vice president.
The First Cabinet
Though the Constitution states that the president “may
require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each
of the executive departments,” nowhere does it specifically mention
a cabinet of advisors. Washington initially tried to
gather advice as he needed it, but this method of consultation proved
to be too confusing.
Eventually, Washington created a few executive officers
(originally only the secretaries of state, war, and the treasury,
and the attorney general) to meet with regularly. He chose Thomas
Jefferson as secretary of state, Alexander Hamilton as
secretary of the treasury, Henry Knox as secretary
of war, and Edmund Randolph as attorney general. Washington’s
decision shaped the way that every one of his successors delegated
executive authority.
Washington as a Southerner
The fact that Washington was from the South was significant.
Virginia had produced top-notch statesmen before the Revolution,
and the trend continued well into the 1800s,
as six of the first ten presidents were from Virginia. This “Virginia
Dynasty” included Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Madison,
Monroe, Harrison, and Tyler. More important, a southern president
demonstrated to Americans and Europeans that the United States was
in fact united. Despite differences between the North and South
even at this early date, both regions were committed to maintaining
a democratic Union. The 1790 decision to
relocate the capital to Washington, D.C., (see The
Excise Tax, p. 32) reinforced
this point.
The Judiciary Act of 1789
Congress’s first order of duty, even before ratifying
the Bill of Rights, was to create the judiciary branch of government
as stipulated by the Constitution. Thus, they passed the Judiciary Act of 1789,
which established a federal court system with thirteen district
courts, three circuit courts, and a Supreme
Court—to be the highest court in the nation—presided over
by six justices.
Congress did not want the federal court system to have
too much power over local communities, so it determined that federal
courts would serve primarily as appeals courts for
cases already tried in state courts. In other words, most cases
would first be heard by a judge in a local community, appealed to
a state court, and finally appealed to the federal courts only if
necessary.
